Child of Heaven
by Scarlet-Wanda-Witch
Summary: God comes up with a plan to defeat Hell: Have one of his Applicants mate with a Carnie to create a Hybrid that He will use against Hell. (Also published under the name CosimaMaslany on Ao3, that is this author's penname on there, not a plagiarized work!)
1. Chapter 1

Heaven, a place that usually was filled with the sounds of music , laughter, and worship was getting a collective migrane, to say the least.

Infant cries echoed throughout the streets as a small bundle was bounced around from shoulder to shoulder to try and soothe the screaming. God sat in His office, lights turned down low and an ice pack on His temple, trying to keep His temper. He knew what He would have to put up with when He had the idea of creating the halfling, but that didn't make the noise any better.

The child had been relatively normal or the first few weeks of her life. Pretty much the darling of Heaven. _Everyone_ wanted to hold her, shower her with love and attention.. They forgot that God had a special purpose for her, which was understandable due to the fact that some of Heaven's denizens had never seen an infant while it had been years since others had seen them.

Then, in the middle of the night one warm summer evening, the screaming started.

From what some of the Applicants had remembered (those who had been mothers in past lives), it was colic. A condition where a child cried for more than three hours a day. For more than three days a week. For more than three weeks at a time.

And nothing could be done to soothe it. The Ladies of Virtue sang lullabies, Amelia, the girl's mother, had told her stories to try anad calm her down. Nothing worked. It was disrupting Heaven's harmony and truth be told, God could not take it much longer.

 _Oh, how I wish I could send it down to that damned carnival and let the creatures down there deal with the little monster.._ God thought to Himself as He shuffled some paperwork.

But He couldn't send her down to Heaven. He wouldn't. Her purpose was to make Hell fall to its knees in submission and recognize that God, the one who had created them, was divine ruler of all and His word was the first and last word. No. God would not take the chance of revealing the halfling to Lucifer, who could do the same thing God was planning to do and turn the child against Heaven.

Sirena would be raised in Heaven, would grow up knowing its citizens, its caste system and its Creator. God would teach her, train her, and when the time came, use her to defeat Lucifer and his minions once and for all. He could sense a storm brewing down in the depths and was preparing for it the best He could. And if that meant that He would have to put up with a little crying, then so be it. He was patient.

The crying ceased at last. God let out a sigh of relief and started working again.

Meanwhile, in Heaven's speakeasy, Amelia rocked her daughter and sang to her gently, as the Songbirds hummed in the background. The babe looked up at her mother with emerald colored eyes, her cries having been silenced for the time being. Amelia had been grateful that God had allowed her to keep the child after she was born. Sirena, albeit shrill most of the time was the light of her (after)life. And being apart of any plan God had was one of the greatest honors any Applicant (or any citizen of Heaven for that matter) could achieve. The deed itself had been quick and sloppy (Sirena's sire was drunk at the time, thank Heaven otherwise Amelia didn't think she could stand it) and God had approved of the result: a small girl, born a little early but with a small dusting of red hair just like her mother's and eyes that seemed to change from green to blue to silver most of the time.

She was perfect. God even said so Himself. The baby went without a name for the first couple of weeks of her life because Amelia couldn't think of any good ones.. plenty were suggested though. Then one day, the colic started and the Agent jokingly suggested Sirena for a name.

Dreamy though he was, truthfully Amelia couldn't stand the prick. But the name stuck and Amelia got used to it.

She looked down at the baby, who had fallen asleep. Amelia smiled and slowly got up, smiling at the Songbirds. "Thanks girls. That really helped."

Geraldine returned a warm smile in return. "It was our pleasure, Amelia. Wasn't it, ladies?" The others giggled and nodded. "Anything for Sirena." One of them chirped bubbly.

Amelia hurried back to her house, laying down Sirena in her crib, turning off the light and whispering softly.

"Good night, my angel. I love you with all my heart and soul. Never forget that."

 _ **4 years later**_

A blurr of red flurried down the streets of Heaven as Sirena chased a small blue light around, laughing and trying to catch it. The light had been appearing to her for a couple of days now, and she was curious as to what it was. Everytime she tried to point it out to one of her friends it (or her mama), it had disappeared and they'd always assume she was playing. But this time she wasn't.

"I'm gonna get you!" She shrieked, gaining on it. But she stopped abruptly, staring at where the light headed.

The elevator.

One of the many places that Sirena was _**FORBIDDEN**_ to go on threat of punishment. And not just a normal time-out or spanking.. but punishment by the Translators. She shivered, just thinking about Batez and Bentz. They were two of the people in Heaven that she was most scared of, along with the Librarian, the Stylist, and God Himself. Sirena had been told she shouldn't be afraid of God, that He was good. He would never hurt her, He even wanted to teach her stuff when she was older. Though what, no one would ever tell her.

But the few times that she'd spent time with Him, she'd have nightmares afterwards. Nightmares of Him yelling at her because she did something wrong. Of her being *gulp* with chains and whips and handcuffs.. Nightmares of fire and pain and darkness and all around scariness that would wake her up in the middle of the night, crying for Mama and never leaving her side until daylight came and Mama would have to leave her for work.

No one would ever tell her what was _in_ the elevator either.. just that it was a bad place where Sirena would get in lots of trouble if she ever went.

But Sirena was a good girl, who would never disobey a request like that.

But Sirena _**hadtoknow**_ what the blue light was. Curiosity burned within her as she stared at the light, just hovering there in the open doors of the elevator. Taking a deep breath and looking around to make sure no one was watching her, she ran inside, and the light disappeared, just as the doors closed.

Sirena's gaze stayed fixed on the dial as it went all the way down to a floor marked with a big red 8. Then the doors opened.


	2. Chapter 2

Sirena stepped out, looking around with both fists balled up as tight as she could grip them. She was afraid for many reasons. The main one being that she could get in trouble if anyone found out that she was down here. But her curiosity got the best of her and here she was. Taking a deep breath, she started walking. When she turned the corner, she came upon something that made her stop dead in her tracks:

A carnival.

Brightly lit rides illuminated the landscape, bells and whistles echoed and circus music played all around Sirena as she gazed in awe at the scene around her. "This place is amazing.." She whispered softly to herself, starting to explore. "Where am I?"

Sirena was good at hiding. She could make herself be seen or unseen to anyone. It was a talent of hers. This particular skill came in handy when she was exploring somewhere she was not supposed to be. For instance, when she was 4, she had entered Heaven's library by mistake -(she'd gotten off on the wrong floor), and when she saw the place was filled with books, she hid inside, running between the rows whenever someone was near and hiding behind the stacks. She couldn't read very well then, but she enjoyed looking at the books and trying to read the words she did not know. Eventually though, someone noticed she was gone (sooner or later, they always did), and she was found curled up by the restricted section, trying to figure a way to pick the lock to get inside.

Her punishment was a very painful spanking by the Translators, followed by a time-out by her mother.

She used her skill that afternoon as she ran around the carnival. She saw many things: clown women balancing on balls, a man who had a magic wand that shot sparks, a woman with a few cracks in her face kissing a man (gross) who looked like he had plastic hair. Sirena even played a couple of the games in the carnival..

But that was nothing compared to the library that she'd seen.

It was smaller than the one in Heaven, but some of the books that were contained in this particular library had better pictures. She'd hopped on a big chair with a very big book and looked at some of the pictures in it: there was a dog on a bridge, a scorpion on a frog's back, a fox looking up at a grape tree, a bird putting pebbles into a pitcher.. The list went on.

And it was here that Sirena was finally discovered.+

The door handle jiggled and opened. Sirena's eyes widened and she dropped the book on the floor, scrambling under the nearest desk, her heart beating in her ears. She could see a pair of boots heading towards where she was and she whimpered softly. What if the Translators were here looking for her? The boots definitely looked like they could belong to one of them. Finally, the intruder spoke:

"Who's there?"

The voice didn't sound like anyone Sirena knew.. No one had that deep of a voice in Heaven, that was for sure. But still, Sirena stayed silent, trying to quiet her breathing as best she could so that she didn't reveal herself. Even if it was one of the carnival workers, she didn't want to be found, becuase they would probably send her home. She didn't want to go home, she was having too much fun.

The man spoke again. "Your being here is against the rules. Come out at once." His voice was authoritative, commanding. Sirena gulped and tried to crawl further under the desk, but her foot bumped against one of the legs and alerted her prescence. She heard the footsteps coming her way and she crawled out from under the desk and made for the door, almost getting there when she was grabbed by the man. Sirena grit her teeth and started fighting him to try and get away, but she was overpowered from the start. The man spun her around and she looked up at him, glaring defiantly.

He was an old man, bald on the top of his head with graying hair hanging down to his shoulders. He had some sort of spyglass around part of his head. His eyes looked sad and he was other emotion reflected in his eyes besides sadness was surprise. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Sirena said nothing, fearing that it was a trick.

The man spoke again, this time in a gentler tone. "What's your name, child?" Sirena shook her head, trying to get to the door again, the man held her back still. She had to get home, back to Heaven and Mama. If she got to her mama, then everything would be alright. Maybe God wouldn't even find out.

"Please, let me go. I don't want to be here anymore, I want to go home before I get in anymore trouble." The dictation machines hung inside Sirena's head and she whimpered just thinking about them. "Please." She said again, looking up at the man, who was studying her with a look that Sirena didn't recognize.

"Where do you live?" He asked her softly, kneeling down to her level and keeping his hands on her shoulders so that she couldn't escape.

She pointed to the ceiling. "I live on the fourth floor. With my mama."

"You mean Heaven?" The man asked her slowly, raising an eyebrow. She nodded quickly. "I'm not supposed to be down here... If they found out I left, then I'll get in really bad trouble." The man stood up, taking her hand and smiling down at her. "I'll take you home, child. But first, there's someone who's going to want to meet you."

The man led her down the hallway to a door that had a doorknocker shaped like a man with horns. He knocked three times, then waited. The door opened a crack and he entered, clutching Sirena's hand tightly. He had assured her that it wouldn't take long for her to meet the mysterious man and after she did, he'd take her home immediately after that. "5 minutes, I promise." He had told her as they left the room. Sirena held her breath as she was led into the room. There was another man inside, sitting in a chair, bent over a stack of paperwork. She couldn't get a good look at him because the room was mostly dark, except for a small lamp on the desk.

"Sire. I have someone here whom you're definitely going to want to meet." The old man said. The man at the desk looked up from what he was doing. Sirena gasped when she saw his face.

She'd never seen a man with a red face before. Or horns. She should've been afraid of him, but she wasn't. The old man continued:

"This is-" He looked down at her. "What's your name, child?"

"Sirena." She said softly.

"She's from Heaven." The old man said, looking at the red man, whose eyebrows shot up. He leaned forward, looking down at Sirena. "Really?" She nodded. "I need to go back there though.."

"I told her I'd take her back to the elevator and make sure that she got home safely, but I thought you'd want to meet her first." The old man said.

"Thank you, my friend. I'll send for you when it's time for her to go home. In the meantime, could you pull up a chair for young Sirena?" The old man did as he was told and helped Sirena into the chair. She smiled a little at the old man and waved at him as he left the room. The man behind the desk got up. "Is it too dark in here for you?" He asked her.

"A little bit." She muttered, looking around the room that was covered in shadows of various shapes and sizes. The light brightened and she was able to see more. The wallpaper was a light reddish color and the room was decorated like a normal office. She spied a bust of William Shakespeare and grinned. "My mama reads me his stories sometimes."

"Really?" The red man asked as he pulled up a chair to sit across from her. Sirena nodded. "My favorite is Midsummernight's Dream. Even though it has a lot of kissing in it." She made a face and the man smiled. "How did you come to be in Heaven, Sirena? If I may ask?"

"I've always been there. My mama says I'm special because I was born there."

"Does your father live with you and your mother?"

"No. I don't know who he is. Mama never told me, so I quit asking."

"I see." The red man looked at Sirena, his fingers folded against each other in thought before continuing. "And how did you come to be in Hell?"

Sirena's jaw dropped. Hell. That's where she was. But wasn't Hell supposed to be scary? This place wasn't scary, it was fun. "I followed the blue light." The red man looked confused and Sirena sighed, crossing her legs indian-style and explained the blue light and the elevator. What she'd seen and done in the carnival. At the end of her story, she looked up at the red man.

"If this is Hell, then you're Lucifer. Aren't you?" He nodded.

Disbelief flooded Sirena's gaze and again, she had too many questions fill her head. "But you aren't evil! You're supposed to have claws and fangs and be a scary monster bent on mutilating my soul and taking my virtue!" Whatever virtue was. That was another thing no one would explain to her. "And if this is Hell, where are the demons and the fire and the torture chamber and the souls screaming in agony, begging for God to have mercy on them?" She was breathing heavily, starting to get mad now. "Why does everyone lie to me?" Sirena asked, feeling tears stinging her face.

Lucifer handed her a tissue, shushing her. "Shhhh... I'm sorry that you're disappointed, my dear girl. But you'll find that disappointment is often the product of life." Sirena wiped her face and sighed. "It isn't fair.." She pouted.

"I know it isn't. I have one more question for you, sweetheart." Sirena looked up at the devil, waiting for him to ask. "Did you like the carnival?" She nodded, grinning at him. "It's the most fun I've had in a really long time!"

Lucifer smiled at this and got off the chair, kneeling on the floor so that he was at her level. "How would you like to come back?"

Sirena gasped in surprise. "Really? Could I?"

"Anytime you wanted. I do have one request to make of you if you do though."

"Sure! Anything!"

"I want to know if there's anything funny going on in Heaven. If there's more talk than usual of Hell and the bad things going on in it, if God wants to send people down here to take care of things. Can you do that for me?"

Sirena nodded vigorously, grinning. "I will!"

"Good girl. Are you ready to go home now?"

"Yes." She got off the chair and gave Lucifer a hug. "Thank you!" He chuckled, patting her back and taking her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye. "One more thing first. You need to promise me that you won't tell _**anyone**_ you were here. Or that we talked. I don't want you to get into trouble. Do you understand?"

"You bet. If I told, the Translators would hurt me bad."

Lucifer got up off the floor. "Fair enough. I'll have the Ticket-Keeper take you home now. And Sirena?"

"Yes?"

"Come back soon." He smiled at her, giving her a wink as the Ticket-Keeper opened the door again and Sirena ran out, closing the door behind her. Lucifer chuckled, walking back to his desk and looking towards the ceiling. "You should guard your treasures more carefully, my old friend."

 **Later That Night**

Sirena laid in bed as her mother sang her lullaby.

 _Hush now, my baby_

 _Be still love, don't cry, sleep as you're rocked by the stream_

 _Sleep and remember this river lullaby and I'll be with you when you dream_

As she fell asleep, her mother kissed her head and got up, shutting the light off. Far in the distance, instead of the usual Alleluias that Sirena heard being sang, she could hear a different melody and she hummed along softly. _"Fa la la.. it's off to Hell we go.. Cross your heart and hope to die, it's off to Hell we go.."_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Few Weeks Later**_

Sirena awoke bright and early to a dawn just barely breaking. She clambored out of bed, running to her mother's room and opening the door gently so as not to wake her. Tiptoeing to her, Sirena climbed into Mama's bed and kissed her cheek, grinning. "Morning Mama." She whispered. Amelia's eyes were closed, but she smiled and hugged Sirena tightly to her. "Happy birthday, beautiful girl." She said into her daughter's ear before kissing her cheek back. Sirena giggled and snuggled into Amelia. "What's for breakfast?"

"Mm-mm baby.. Mama needs some rest. I had to work the late shift last night. One of the Songbirds busted a pipe and I had to stand in for them."

Sirena pouted and Amelia opened her eyes, surveying her expression before sighing and sititng up. "I'm sorry, baby. I'll make you something special, but then I have to sleep a little while longer, okay?"

"Okay!" Sirena said, brightening up and getting out of Mama's bed, running downstairs. Amelia smiled weakly and stretched, following her. Things had been starting to get a little tougher in Heaven. God was assigning more and more Applicants to caste 7 every week. Daily announcements were beginning to fill with propaganda designed to rile up Heaven's citizens against Hell and pamphlets were starting to circulate with titles like 'How Not To Fall' and 'Earning Your Wings: Finding a Place in Heaven'. A few weeks ago, the Agent had visited Amelia when she was working and told her that Sirena's training would have to begin soon.. God's orders, of course. Even the Songbirds were feeling the strain as the Publicist was trying to come up with new material for the War On Hell. More and more, Amelia was being called in to work late shifts, on top of the work that she was being assigned already.

Sometimes the only times she even saw Sirena was when she came home to feed her and put her to bed, then it was off to the Speakeasy again. And with God wanting to start grooming Sirena (for who knew what, Amelia asked the Agent when he came to tell her about Sirena's training and all he told her was that it was a 'need to know basis and it was above her caste'), Amelia was worried she wouldn't be able to see her sweet girl.

It seemed the only one all of the frenzy hadn't gotten to was Sirena herself. The little girl could often be seen skipping around Heaven, happy as a clam. The thought that that happiness would be squashed out eventually scared Amelia to the core.

 _I need to figure out a way to make sure she stays like this during her training.._ Amelia thought, watching Sirena prance around the living room, playing with her dolls.

Heading to the kitchen, Amelia started getting ingredients together. Half an hour later, she dimmed the lights and called Sirena into the kitchen, instructing her to close her eyes as she led her to her chair and set her food in front of her.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sirenaaa.. Happy birthday to you." Amelia sang, smiling warmly as her daughter giggled with her eyes still closed, bouncing in her seat in anticipation. "Go ahead and blow out the candle, darling. Make a wish!" Sirena's eyes were tightly scrunched in thought before she grinned, showing her cute little gapped front teeth and blowing out the candle, opening her eyes.

In front of her was a cupcake. And not just any cupcake either: Chocolate! With vanilla frosting and pretty purple sprinkles and small yellow writing on the frosting. A big blue smoldering candle with the number '6' was sitting smack-dab in the middle of the cake.

"Can you read what the words say, baby girl?" Mama asked, kneeling down to her level.

Sirena looked at the letters, deep in concentration. "Ha- Haappyyy... Bir- birethday-"

"Birthday." Mama corrected.

"Birthday." Sirena repeated. "Sireeeennnaaaa. Happy birthday Sirena!" She beamed at Mama, feeling proud. Mama clapped, giving Sirena a big hug. "I'm so proud of you, baby! Good job!"

"Thank you, Mama!" She laughed. "Can we eat now?"

"Of course we can, sweetie." Mama took the candle out and cut the cupcake into four pieces: two for each of them. Mama had also fixed bacon for Sirena, her favorite breakfast food.

"Thank you, Mama." Sirena said after they'd finished eating. "I'll let you get back to sleep now." She hopped off the chair and started to go get dressed. Amelia followed. "Whatcha gonna do today, baby girl?" She asked, helping Sirena pick out what she was going to wear.

"I'm gonna go see the Watchword and see if he needs any help doing stuff!" Sirena chirped.

"Alright, well, don't forget: we're having a party tonight at 7 for you." Amelia said as she started to fix Sirena's hair with a blue ribbon. "And I need to tell you something when you get back."

"Is it a surprise?" She asked, green eyes widening in anticipation. Amelia smiled, kissing her forehead. "Yes, dear heart. It's a surprise." _Though not the kind of surprise I'm wanting to give y ou. If it were up to me, I'd make sure you stayed away from all of this mess.. I wish I could send you down to Earth._

"Be at the Speakeasy at 7 sharp, and make sure you stay out of trouble, do you understand?" Amelia warned. "I don't want the highlight of your sixth birthday to be a punishement by the Translators. You do what the Watchword tells you to, and if he doesn't want any help today, I want you to go straight home."

"Okay, Mama. I will." Sirena said, giving Amelia a kiss on the cheek and running back downstairs. "I love you!" She yelled behind her before slamming the front door. Amelia watched out the window as Sirena raced down the street. "I love you too, Sirena.. I really do."

 _Why do I feel like I shouldn't have let her out of the house today?_


	4. Chapter 4

The cell that Sirena was sitting in was dark and cold. She was even colder from the irons clapped around her wrists. Shivering and scared, she curled up on the floor, sobbing (though no tears came out, she'd been all cried out for about an hour now). Coughing, she reached for the blanket that had been brought to her. It was scratchy and thin, but the only thing that she could depend on for warmth at the moment. Wrapping it around her, she sighed, trying to ignore her throbbing arm; closing her eyes and singing softly.

 _Hush now, my baby_

 _Be still love, don't cry.. Sleep as you're rocked by the stream_

 _Sleep and remember my river lullaby so I'll be with you when you dream_

Mama.. How long had it been since Sirena had seen her? Hours? A day, maybe? It had been such a long time since they'd thrown Sirena in the cell that she didn't even know how much time had passed. And it didn't help that the cell had no windows, so she didn't even know if it was day or night. "I miss you, Mama.." Sirena whispered. "And I miss everyone at the Carnival too. Especially Lucifer.." She hung her head, sniffling and hugging her legs to her so that she mimicked a turtle staying in its shell.

 _ **Earlier**_

Sirena ran along the streets of Heaven as usual, stopping at the elevator as she usually did nowadays, staring at the two circular buttons; glowing with white light before pressing the bottom one (which she could barely reach), bouncing on her heels excitedly. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she heard the 'ding' that had become a familiar sound to her these past couple of weeks. The doors opened and she ran straight in, pressing the '8' button, followed by 'close'.

As the elevator doors closed, they drowned out the 'click' of a camera around the corner.

Lucifer surveyed the Carnival with a wary eye, making sure that every detail was perfect for their guest. After all, it wasn't everyday a young lady turned six.

For the past 7 weeks, little Sirena visited the Carnival almost every day, had played with some of the Carnies, and had brightened up the otherwise gloomy place. Lucifer even found himself reading to the girl sometimes. And she was a born reader if he'd ever seen one.

Shakespeare was her favorite, of course. But he would read other things to her too. Aseop's Fables, Grimm's Fairy Tales; he'd even started reading more contemporary things to her such as Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley(nothing too scary. She was still young, after all). She'd often ask questions when he read to her.. Not just about the story, but of other things as well. Lucifer knew that she'd never in a billion years ask God any of these things. She was afraid of Him. But she was never afraid of Lucifer, never afraid to ask of him for fear that she wouldn't get a straight answer. He told her on her first day there that if she wanted to come to him for anything, she shouldn't give it a second thought. And she never had.

The Carnival was decked out in silver and green- Sirena's favorite colors. Lucifer'd specifically ordered everyone to stop what they were doing for the day so that they could celebrate her birthday. He wanted his subjects to treat Sirena like she was a part of the family- because after all, she really was. Her father was one of the Carnies. Though he was still trying to figure out whom it was. To Lucifer, Sirena wasn't just a way to get to Heaven, she was a Carnie In Training. A sure-fire shoe-in. When the time came, Lucifer would invite Sirena to join the Carnival permenantly and of course she would say yes. What child wouldn't want to be a part of a circus?

But he'd worry about that later- what was important at that moment was to celebrate Sirena's birthday and make her feel welcome.

The 'ding' of the elevator signaled Sirena's return to the Carnival and the Ticket-Keeper was waiting for her, just as he always did. Sirena greeted him with her cheeriest smile as she ran out of the elevator to hug him. "Hi Ticket-Keeper! Did you miss me?" The old man let out a genuine laugh and returned the hug. "Of course I did, little girl. How are you? How's it feel to be six years old?"

"Much like being 5.. but with more presents. Speaking of, where's my party?"

The Ticket-Keeper raised an eyebrow and frowned, taking Sirena's hand. "Now now, dear. You aren't even supposed to know about the party. Who told you?"

"Scorpion." Came her reply. "He told me a couple of days ago."

The Ticket-Keeper should've known. "That wasn't very nice of him.. Lucifer was really wanting to keep it a surprise for you. Will you still try and act surprised?"

Sirena shrugged. "I dunno.. I miiiight, what's in it for me?"

 _She's been spending too much time around that boy.. He's been teaching her how to bargain._ "How about I reveal one of your presents?"

"Maybeeee.. But if you tell me two, I'll probably forget we even had this conversation.." An angelic expression crossed Sirena's features and she grinned innocently at the Ticket-Keeper. He sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Very well, my dear." But just as he was about to tell her what she was getting, one of the Woe-Maidens snuck up on them and lifted Sirena onto her shoulders. "Happy birthday, brat!" She shrieked. Sirena squealed in glee as the Woe-Maidens ran into the tent set up for her party. Ticket-Keeper breathed a sigh of relief as the females retreated with the little girl. _Saved by the crazies.._

 _ **A Little While Later..**_

 _ **"**_ Just a bit farther, child.. You've almost got it." The Twin hissed as Sirena scaled the rocky wall, eyeing her present which was sitting on the ledge. She was so close to the thing, she could taste it. Just a couple of feet further and she'd have it!

This birthday was by far the best she'd had in her short 6 years of life. No one else in Heaven would've thought of having a scavenger hunt for her presents, let alone making it an obstacle course as well! Or having cake and ice cream be the reward for all her hard work when she finished! Birthdays in Heaven weren't really celebrated, except for Sirena's (which she didn't really understand), but she was learning to not ask questions and just go with it. To be a good Angel of the Lord, just like her Mama and the Agent.

Sirena's birthdays in Heaven were celebrated with cake and ice cream, and lots of presents and singing. She usually had a great time.. but in Hell, she was having an even better time. From the moment when she'd gone down the elevator for the first time all those weeks ago, she started having the best time of her short six years of existance! The Carnies were nice to her and spent time with her and she'd come to like a lot of them, even the really scary ones like the Doll and the Magician. Scorpion was her favorite. He was going to teach her how to throw knives when she was older. She couldn't wait.

Sirena looked up at the wall, seeing that her present was just within reach. _Almost there.._ She thought, reaching for it while making sure that she was balanced on the ledge of the wall. Closer.. closer.. Her hands were just barely touching the present when she felt her foot slip and then, just before she knew it: down, down, down! 5- 10- 15 feet to the ground. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open and forming an 'O' shape, silently screaming, scared that she was going to splat like an egg breaking when she fell into something solid. Sirena opened her eyes and found them staring into dark brown orbs. The Scorpion grinned, setting the girl down and kneeling to her level. 

"You might wanna watch it next time, sweet pea. You almost got back into Heaven- permenantly."

Sirena turned back around, studying the rock wall and the red-wrapped box that had fallen with her for a minute. Scorpion raised an eyebrow before speaking up again. "You okay, kiddo?" Sirena nodded before looking over at the Ticket-Keeper, who had been watching the whole thing and whose eyes were now on Sirena.

"Can I try again?" This was met with cheers of encouragement from the Carnies and earned smiles from the Ticket-Keeper and Lucifer himself, who was watching from afar. The Ticket-Keeper nodded. "As many times as you want, dear. It's your day after all." The little girl grinned and turned back to the wall, eyes narrowed in determination. _This time, I'll make it up to the ledge and back down_ _ **without**_ _falling_. She thought as she raced back. Nothing could or would stop her.. She was invincible.

 _ **Meanwhile..**_

God stared at the photographs in disbelief as the Agent looked at the Watchword defensively. "You're kidding."

The old man shook his head. "I saw her going down.. She hasn't come back up yet, as far as I can tell." The Agent turned back to God. "I'll get the Translators, we'll go down and get her right away, sir." The young man started to leave when God spoke. "No. If we start sending people down, it'll be an act of war. We aren't ready for that. Not by a long shot." The Creator dismissed the Watchword and leaned back in His chair, thinking. The Agent stood by loyally, watching God and awaiting further commands as usual. He could see the anger in God's eyes. Finally, He spoke again. "Her birthday party starts soon, correct?"

The Agent nodded. "Yes sir."

"Cancel it. I have a different surprise in mind for young Sirena. A lesson that she won't soon forget." His smile was hollow and the Agent felt a pang of sympathy for her. God only smiled like that when His Wrath was about to be wrought.

"Yes sir." The Agent bowed and started walking away towards the speakeasy. As he left, his eye caught Amelia running down the street to the elevator, late for work. He couldn't recall ever feeling more sorry for the woman. Whatever was about to befall her daughter would not be pleasant.


End file.
